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BASF, one of the world’s largest chemical companies, is investing more in its biotech crop technology unit, pushing a raft of new products to market that should start contributing earnings to the BASF bottom line within the next couple of years, company officials said on Wednesday.

Moves by the European Union to overhaul its approval system for genetically modified crops is a “big step forward.” but it is likely to be some time before the bloc is open to wide-spread cultivation of key crops, a leading DuPont executive said on Tuesday.

Monsanto Co’s shares dropped sharply after the company adjusted performance expectations downward on Thursday, saying it was narrowing its herbicide business and lowering prices amid stiff competition. Its shares fell more than 8 percent to the lowest levels in more than three years after the company said it now expects fiscal-year 2010 earnings per share to be $2.40 to $2.60 on an ongoing basis, and $2.15 to $2.41 on an as-reported basis.

Monsanto Co, said on Thursday it will restructure its herbicide products in an effort to help combat the spreading environmental woes of herbicide-resistant weeds, also known as “super weeds,” which many critics have blamed on the chemical giant. “We need to get in front of this,” Monsanto chairman Hugh Grant said in a conference call with analysts.

Higher prices for beef, pork and poultry could keep Americans from firing up their grills as often as usual this summer, keeping consumer demand for meat slow at a time of year when it usually peaks, industry experts said on Wednesday.

Global seed giant Monsanto Co took a humble tone on Wednesday, laying out a new pricing and product offering strategy following U.S. farmer complaints about the company’s practices and a disappointing launch of a new soybean seed.

Monsanto sought to reassure disheartened investors on Wednesday, saying it was gaining market share in Latin America and that farmers were enthusiastic about its new U.S. seed product lineup. The company, which has been struggling with a raft of competitive problems in both its chemicals and seeds and traits businesses, reiterated a forecast for mid-teens percentage growth in earnings per share beginning in 2011.

The real estate advisory unit of Franklin Templeton Investments plans to expand into agriculture, energy, water, and other areas that reflect rising demand for food and energy, the investment company said on Monday.

Agribusiness giant Cargill’s $6 billion Black River arm is making its next big bet on changing eating habits in major developing nations, buying into dairy farms in Asia and breeding fish in Latin America.

As economic fears spark riots in Greece and stock market sell-offs, a range of institutional and corporate interests said this week they were moving money into what they see as the relative safety of global farmland.